How Cristobal Balenciaga Became King of the Paris Fashion Scene (part one)

Hey team,

LaToya here! Welcome back to The Strategy Files, the newsletter where I study the most successful people in, art, music, fashion, and culture.  You apply it to your startup, agency, or side hustle. It’s a team effort!

Today’s lessons come from a man who was incredibly bold, strategic, ambitious and focused - fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga.  Shout out to Modupe, who writes  The Fashion Operator, for the idea.

Lessons From This Months Deep Dive:

• Learn through apprenticeships

• Luck + Hard Work === Success

• If you’re in the right location for your goals, be a sponge.  If you’re not, relocate.

• Build authentic relationships with people who can positively impact your business

• Unpopular opinion: there is, in fact, a correct way to be a nepo baby.

Paris had been the fashion capital of the world for 300 years when Cristobal Balenciaga arrived in 1936.  The city was ripe with talent; Christian Dior worked as a fashion illustrator, selling sketches to French Magazines. Elsa Schiaparelli collaborated with Salvador Dali; the collaboration helped land her designs on the cover of British Vogue. Coco Chanel was so in demand that she was offered a million-dollar deal to dress Hollywood movie stars.